Consecutive 18-point losses haven’t zapped the Los Angeles Lakers of their belief they can recover to make it a series with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
But a third straight setback would undoubtedly feel like a near-knockout punch.
The Lakers look to get off the mat on Saturday night and back into the Western Conference second-round series when they host the defending champion Thunder.
The two losses in Oklahoma City aren’t the only results that have the Lakers wondering whether they can solve the top-seeded Thunder.
The Thunder and Lakers have played six times this season and Oklahoma City has won them all with an average victory margin of 25.5 points.
The Thunder’s regular-season victory margins were 29, 9, 43 and 36 points. The latter two were played April 2 in Oklahoma City — the last time All-Star guard Luka Doncic has played — and April 7 in Los Angeles. And with Doncic (hamstring) still sidelined, the situation is bleak.
LeBron James averages 25 points in this series and might have to put on the Superman cape for any chance of a comeback. But Thunder guard Alex Caruso says nobody should overlook what the 41-year-old James can do.
“He’s always ready for the moment,” said Caruso, a teammate of James for three seasons (2018-21) with the Lakers. “Everybody wants to talk about his age, but he’s still LeBron James. He’s still capable of being the best player on the court any given night.”
Still, James is concerned about the Game 2 loss putting Los Angeles in a deep hole against the Thunder.
“We tried to execute (the game plan) as close to 48 minutes as possible, but it just didn’t get done,” James said of the 125-107 road loss.
Austin Reaves provided hope with a career playoff-high 31 points on 10-of-16 shooting. The effort came in his fourth game back from an oblique injury.
“I thought he did a good job touching the paint and those tough shots were there,” Los Angeles coach JJ Redick said. “Got some good looks from three. He played a solid game. Obviously he had five turnovers, but everybody on our team had turnovers.”
The Lakers turned the ball over 21 times on Thursday, leading to 26 Oklahoma City points.
Los Angeles seemed to be in good position when it led 65-61 with 10:34 left in the third quarter and Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander headed to the bench after committing his fourth foul.
Instead, Oklahoma City dominated the rest of the quarter and outscored the Lakers 32-15 as Gilgeous-Alexander watched from the bench. That allowed the Thunder to lead 93-80 entering the fourth quarter.
“It was amazing,” Gilgeous-Alexander said of the bench play. “They strung together stops, they’re playing the right way offensively and things are going their way. Full confidence in those guys. They know how to win basketball games. And we’ve proven that. They’ve proven that no matter who’s on the floor, they know how to get the job done.”
Gilgeous-Alexander scored 22 points in Game 2 and the reigning league MVP is averaging just 20 per game in the series with the Lakers devoting multiple defenders to him on nearly every possession.
The philosophy has helped Thunder big man Chet Holmgren flourish. He is averaging 23 points and 10.5 rebounds in the series.
“He’s the ultimate winner anyways, but he was the ultimate winner (Thursday),” Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault said. “There’s nothing he can’t do. When the lights are on, he’s at his best.”
Thunder star Jalen Williams (hamstring) remains out, but his absence in Game 2 was minimized as Ajay Mitchell scored 20 points while filling Williams’ starting spot again and Jared McCain poured in 18 off the bench.
